Banks, Firms and Economic Culture: Economists and Research Centres in Interwar Italy

This chapter offers a historical reconstruction of the most important research institutes established in Italy by banks and firms during the interwar years. The Italian experience can be read and placed in a much wider international trend that emerged during the Great War. Though initially confined within the banking sector, research departments gradually spread out to the major industrial corporations, especially those included in the new public conglomerates. After exploring the extensive web of relationships between the academia and the productive world, the chapter focuses on a set of relevant case studies: four selected within the banking sector (Banca Commerciale Italiana, Banca d’Italia, Associazione Bancaria Italiana and Banco di Sicilia); and six within the industrial sector (IRI, Finsider, Ansaldo, Edison, Montecatini and Fiat). The intent of this study is to understand what role economists played in the establishment and growth of these research institutes, what functions they performed and what impact they had, especially concerning economic culture, technical innovations and institutional reforms.